Sixth Avenue
Avenue of the Americas | |
Fifth Avenue (north of Waverly Pl) | |
West | Varick Street (south of Houston Street) Seventh Avenue (Houston Street to 34th Street) Broadway (between 34th and 45th Streets) Seventh Avenue (between 45th and 59th Streets) |
---|---|
Construction | |
Commissioned | March 1811 |
Sixth Avenue – also known as Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers[2][3][4] – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown". It is commercial for much of its length.
Sixth Avenue begins four blocks below
Sixth Avenue's northern end is at
History
Sixth Avenue was laid out in the Commissioners' Plan of 1811. As originally designed, Sixth Avenue's southern terminus was at Carmine Street in Greenwich Village, and it continued northward to 147th Street in Harlem. Central Park was added to the street grid in 1857 and created an interruption in Sixth Avenue between 59th and 110th Streets. Proposals to extend the street south of Carmine Street were discussed by the city's Board of Aldermen as early as the mid-1860s.[6] The IRT Sixth Avenue Line elevated railway (the "El") was constructed on Sixth Avenue in 1878, darkening the street and reducing its real-estate value. In the early and mid-1800s Sixth Avenue passed by the popular roadhouse and tavern, Old Grapevine, at the corner of 11th Street, which at the time was the northern edge of the city.[7]
In late 1887, the Harlem portion of what was then considered Sixth Avenue was renamed Lenox Avenue[8] for philanthropist James Lenox; a century later it was co-named Malcolm X Boulevard, in honor of the slain civil rights leader Malcolm X.[9][10]
Starting in 1926, as part of the construction of the
By the 1930s, a coalition of commercial establishments and building owners along Sixth Avenue campaigned to have the El removed. The El was closed on December 4, 1938, and came down in stages, beginning in Greenwich Village in 1938–39.
The demolition of the Sixth Avenue elevated railway also resulted in accelerated commercial development of the avenue in
On March 10, 1957, Sixth Avenue was reconfigured to carry one-way traffic north of its intersection with Broadway in Herald Square.[23] The rest of the avenue followed on November 10, 1963.[24]
In the mid-1970s, the city "spruced up" the street, including the addition of patterned brick crosswalks, repainting of streetlamps, and new pedestrian plazas. Special lighting, rare throughout the rest of the city, was also installed.[25]
Renaming and co-naming
The avenue's official name was changed to Avenue of the Americas in 1945 by the City Council, at the behest of Mayor Fiorello La Guardia,[26] who signed the bill into law on October 2, 1945.[27] The intent was to honor "Pan-American ideals and principles"[28] and the nations of Central and South America, and to encourage those countries to build consulates along the avenue.[29] It was felt at the time that the name would provide greater grandeur to a shabby street,[30] and to promote trade with the Western Hemisphere.[31]
After the name change, round signs were attached to streetlights on the avenue, showing the national seals and coats of arms of the nations honored. However, New Yorkers rarely used the avenue's newer name,[4] and in 1955, an informal study found that locals used "Sixth Avenue" more than eight times as often as "Avenue of the Americas".[32] The move was also criticized as "propaganda" by those who wanted to return to the original name.[33] Since then, the thoroughfare has been labelled as both "Avenue of the Americas" and "Sixth Avenue" in recent years. Most of the old round signs with country emblems were gone by the late 1990s, and the ones remaining, which were only present between Canal Street and Washington Place in Greenwich Village and in Midtown around 57th Street began showing signs of age.[31] However, starting in March 2023, the city began to install new signs along most of the length of the avenue, in addition to replacing the remaining original signs, which were aging.[34][35]
Notable buildings and events
Sights along Sixth Avenue include
.Sixth Avenue is the site of the annual Village Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village[42] and the Dominican Day Parade in Midtown.
Mass transit
Sixth Avenue is served by the
In popular culture
The avenue is referenced both in the name and in the lyrics of "6th Avenue Heartache" by The Wallflowers.[45]
See also
References
- ^ Google (September 13, 2015). "Sixth Avenue" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
- ISBN 978-0-8232-1275-0., p.24
- ^ Finnegan, Jack (2007). Newcomer's Handbook For Moving to and Living in New York City. First Books. p. 43.
Avenue of the Americas, a name rarely used by New Yorkers
- ^ a b Cudahy, Brian J. (1995). Under the Sidewalks of New York. Fordham University Press. p. 132.
New Yorkers stubbornly resist calling Sixth Avenue by the name it has officially borne since the La Guardia years
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
- ^ "Village Landmarks – The Old Grapevine Tavern". NYPL. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
- ^ Malcolm X Boulevard Archived June 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, New York City Department of City Planning. Accessed May 25, 2007.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
- ^ a b c Walsh, Kevin (April 15, 2003). "Deep Sixth: a walk up Avenue of the Americas – Forgotten New York". forgotten-ny.com. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
- ^ Gold, Joyce. From Trout Stream to Bohemia: A Walking Guide to Greenwich Village History (1988:49)
- ^ a b WPA Guide to New York City (1939) 1984:138
- ISBN 9781632867445.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
- ^ OCLC 9829395.
- ^ "Passage: Black Rock". CBS News. March 29, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
- ^ "CBS Building" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. October 21, 1997. p. 3.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
- ^ "Forgotten Street Scenes: Secrets of Sixth Avenue". Forgotten NY. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ "Avenue of the Americas" Archived August 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine on the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council website
- ^ "The other name for Sixth Avenue" on Ephemeral New York (January 3, 2010)
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
- ^ "NY's Avenue of the Americas Linked to Latin American Independence". NBC News. January 25, 2016. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ McGoldrick, Meaghan (January 31, 2023). "'A place we can all call home': City unveils restored medallions on Avenue of the Americas | amNewYork". www.amny.com. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ "NYC DOT, Mayor's Office of International Affairs and Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs Unveil First Restored Medallions Along Avenue of the Americas". www.nyc.gov. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ "Duarte Square". New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
- ^ *NYC Architecture Site
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ Herald Square – NYC Parks
- ^ "Store Count and Square Footage – Macy's, Inc". Macy's, Inc. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
- ^ Bryant Park Corporation
- ^ "Village Halloween Parade". halloween-nyc.com. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
- ^ "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
- ^ "Maps – PATH". www.panynj.gov. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
- ^ "Sixth Avenue Heartache by The Wallflowers Songfacts". songfacts.com. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
External links
- New York Songlines: Sixth Avenue – a virtual walking tour